


Arbitrary

by ToxicPineapple



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: (it's kiyo idk what you were expecting), Developing Relationships, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hugs, I mean the to-lovers part happens in this fic, Introspection, Korekiyo pines for Himiko a little bit, Love Confessions, Nonbinary Korekiyo Shinguji, Other, Saimota is a background pairing but I try to tag properly, Slightly Awkward Conversations, Toxic is incapable of writing anything but fluff rn, friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22138390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple
Summary: “You know,” they falter at the concerned way her lips turn, the lazy flutter of her eyelashes. This would be easier, Korekiyo thinks, if they didn’t like her so much. But if they didn’t like her so much, then they suppose they wouldn’t be doing it at all. “There is something that I wanted to talk to you about.” They finally say, lacing their fingers together under the table and watching Himiko’s expression shift from worry to curiosity. She doesn’t speak, but her eyes shift slightly, as though urging them to continue. “It pertains to… our relationship. So to speak,” they add quickly, in case relationship is too serious a word to use to describe what they have going on.Thankfully, Himiko appears unbothered.---Korekiyo confesses.
Relationships: Momota Kaito/Saihara Shuichi (background), Shinguji Korekiyo/Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	Arbitrary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [platonics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonics/gifts).



> this was written for my ship ficlets and drabbles requests ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/19809022/chapters/46901911 ) but i wanted to post it separately since it's platonics' birthday :3 you are SO talented and i'll say more in the end notes but yeah
> 
> also i'm proud of it so,, bumping it separate on my feed

“I think that the worst thing that could happen,” Kaito begins, stroking his goatee like a detective immersed in thought. “Is that she rejects you.”

Scathingly, Korekiyo replies, “Unfortunately, this particular scenario seems to have a very high chance of occurring,” but they feel bad for being sharp as soon as the words leave their mouth, because Kaito raises his hands as though in surrender. It’s not his fault that they’re feeling so nervous (in fact if anything he’s just trying to help them calm themselves) but they can’t help being a little bit snippy. It’s always what happens when their heart pounds this hard.

“Alright, then,” Shuichi shifts his body away so that he’s facing Korekiyo rather than Kaito, a small smile on his face. He’s handling this with more tact than his boyfriend is, which is the biggest reason why Korekiyo is glad that they asked  _ both  _ of them for advice on how to deal with the whole confession thing. They’re the only established couple in their class right now, so it makes sense, but honestly they’re a lot closer to Shuichi than they are to Kaito, which has made a lot of this extremely awkward. “Let’s go over what will happen if Yumeno does reject you.”

Logically, Korekiyo knows why the detective is suggesting this, but they can’t help responding with a short and irritated, “Why?” before closing their mouth and figuring that they should just let Shuichi speak. He gives them a patient look, and they appreciate it, even if it is just the slightest bit patronising. Shuichi knows a lot about dealing with anxiety, which is why he’s saying this at all. If Korekiyo has a backup plan for the worst-case-scenario, then they’ll feel better about it going in. Less nervous about facing rejection.

Unfortunately, as it pertains to Himiko, they’re not sure it’s possible to feel less nervous about facing rejection, because they are simply much too fond of her. As a friend first and foremost, but romantically too. Even if she’s graceful about rejecting them and makes good on any promises she makes to stay friends, Korekiyo is worried that they’ll handle the rejection too awkwardly. Either that, or in future conversations, they won’t be able to see past this lurking suspicion that she’ll feel uncomfortable with them and their (potentially) unrequited affections. And that’s what they’re most afraid of, that Himiko won’t make a big deal out of it, but they will.

“You’ve never been rejected before, right, bro?” Kaito pauses, and then adds softly, “Is it, er, okay to call you bro?”

“I don’t mind,” Korekiyo responds, waving their hand dismissively. It  _ should  _ bother them, because Kaito has never used the word  _ bro  _ to refer to a girl before which means he doesn’t mean it in a genderneutral way, but they understand that it’s just a term of endearment, and anyway it  _ doesn’t  _ bother them, so that’s just what it’s going to boil down to for now. If it gets uncomfortable in the future then they’ll just have to talk to him. Kaito might not understand a lot of things about gender (which Korekiyo gets; they’re not exactly an expect on the topic themselves, despite what others may think) but he’s been much more respectful than they were initially expecting about the whole pronouns thing. Even if he does slip up from time to time. “Anyway, no, I haven’t,” and idly they add, “Nor have I ever confessed before.”

“It can be scary.” Shuichi muses. “But it really isn’t so bad. When I’ve confessed in the past, the worst that has happened has been that things were a little bit awkward for a couple of days, and then things were fine after that.”

“I should apologise, about that,” Korekiyo starts.

“Forget it, it was a while ago,” Shuichi shakes his hand. “At any rate, I’ve mostly just been relieved that I was finally able to get my feelings off my chest. Although, none of my crushes-- excluding my most recent one-- have been as, ah, intense as the one you have for Yumeno now, so things might be different for you.” Korekiyo is inclined to agree. They’re weighing the exact results of this confession a lot differently than Shuichi likely has in confessing to the objects of his affections in the past.

“Yumeno is nice, though.” Kaito scratches the back of his head. “She thinks that treating people differently for any reason is a pain.” He frowns, though, and sighs when he speaks. “But she’s been asking me for piggyback rides ever since we started attending Hope’s Peak…”

Korekiyo smiles, and then wonders if Kaito can even tell. Shuichi seems to notice, but Kaito is always kind of oblivious to the finer details in other people’s faces. “I’m aware that she’s…” they hesitate, because a word as mild as  _ nice  _ doesn’t feel like it entirely encompasses everything that they like about Himiko Yumeno. “...kindhearted,” they decide upon after a moment. “But that doesn’t change the fact that being rejected would be… ah, would soul-crushing be an appropriate descriptor, here?”

Eyeing them steadily, Shuichi says, “I suppose, but, Shinguji, I really don’t think she’s going to reject you.”

“Oh?” They’re getting derailed again, but Korekiyo is admittedly interested in hearing Shuichi’s thoughts on this. As dense as he is when  _ other  _ people have feelings for him, Shuichi is pretty perceptive to the feelings people have for each other. He’s a detective, though, and Korekiyo supposes that it probably comes with the territory. “What makes you say that?”

“Ah, it’s, not that I watch Yumeno often, but she,” his face reddens slightly. “Sits behind Kaito, so--”

“Understandable,” Korekiyo nods, before Kaito can interrupt with any nonsense. All aspects of humanity, naturally, are quite beautiful, and the romantic ones especially, but they don’t want to get side-tracked right now, as they’re planning on confessing  _ tomorrow.  _ They’ll ask Kaito and Shuichi plenty about their relationship after this whether or not things go well with the confession, so for now they’d like to focus.

“Anyway, every time she spaces off, her eyes drift over to you.” Shuichi says this very factually, like he might sharing his findings on a case. “I haven’t spoken to her about it, but I would be surprised if she  _ didn’t  _ have feelings for you, Shinguji.”

Despite themselves, Korekiyo finds that they are very reassured by Shuichi’s assessment. The state of calm that they are put in by the detective lingers all the way through the rest of the day, but by the time they’re actually staring Himiko in the face, sitting across from her in the library, their nerves skyrocket all over again.

“You look nervous,” Himiko comments idly. They usually sit together in the library after class on Mondays to study; it’s ideal because it’s quiet, and people know that they do this so they’re rarely interrupted. Or rather, Kirumi knows that they do this, and she keeps everyone else out. (Perhaps this is her way of sending Korekiyo her support in regards to the whole confessing thing, and while they are very grateful this doesn’t relieve their tension any.) “You haven’t even opened your textbook yet.” She’s one to talk, she’s been sitting there with her chin on the table for the past fifteen minutes or so.

But that’s one of the things that they like about her, the quiet and slow laziness, so they can’t really complain. It must be speak volumes to their infatuation with the magician that they think laziness is a positive trait in her, but it’s one of her defining characteristics. “Neither have you,” they reply regardless, and the smile that she gives is barely anything at all, just a smug curl of her upper lip, but it brings a much wider smile to their face. (Not that she can see it, but based on the way her red-brown eyes sparkle when she meets theirs, she must be able to tell. Unlike Kaito, Himiko doesn’t need to be a detective to know plenty about how to read what they’re thinking. Perhaps this is why they like her so much.)

“We have a system going, remember?” She sits up very slightly, propping her face up with her hand, and they appreciate the squish of her cheek against her bony palm as she peers up at them. “You open your book and start doing productive stuff, and then twenty minutes later you finally nag me into starting on my homework. You can’t break the routine, ‘guji, you’ll disrupt the natural order of the universe.”

For a moment, Korekiyo considers shelving their confession and opening their textbook. It would be easy, they think, to just fall back into the way that they usually interact with. Things are always so comfortable around Himiko. They don’t have to think about being objective all the time, or what Sister wants, or anything. They can just think about useless things, frivolous things, equally lovely and heartwarming things that they would much rather be thinking about. It would be alright, they think, if they just stayed best friends with Himiko forever. She’s such a nice person to be around, calming and gentle and lowkey.

Observant, too, more observant than she lets on, and shrewd in ways that nobody gives her credit for-- even Tenko, who is hanging off her shoulder half of the time. It would be nice to simply remain her friend. It would be comfortable and easy and they wouldn’t have to challenge themselves and go out of their comfort zone and risk destroying everything they’ve worked so hard to create with her.

But, isn’t the point of a confession that they want more? They  _ do  _ crave intimacy with Himiko, a different kind of intimacy than one can achieve through a platonic relationship, and they… ah, they’d like to hold her hand, if entirely possible, and someday even take off their mask to kiss her… nobody else they know is so patient as she is, so undemanding and respectful and sweet. She doesn’t make them nervous (the anxiety they’re feeling right now is more of a result of the emotional vulnerability that comes with confessions) the way that anybody else might. And she’s well and truly beautiful, in so many more ways than Korekiyo possesses the vocabulary to articulate.

So, perhaps staying best friends is… not the best option. “Hey.” Himiko is sitting up fully now, rubbing one of her eyes with a closed fist. “Your brow is furrowed. What’s wrong? Did something happen?” She sounds serious (or rather, she’s speaking in  _ upper case,  _ which really isn’t normal for her), and concerned, even, which certainly isn’t what Korekiyo wants to achieve, so they clear their throat and decide to spill.

“You know,” they falter at the concerned way her lips turn, the lazy flutter of her eyelashes. This would be easier, Korekiyo thinks, if they didn’t like her so much. But if they didn’t like her so much, then they suppose they wouldn’t be doing it at all. “There  _ is  _ something that I wanted to talk to you about.” They finally say, lacing their fingers together under the table and watching Himiko’s expression shift from worry to curiosity. She doesn’t speak, but her eyes shift slightly, as though urging them to continue. “It pertains to… our relationship. So to speak,” they add quickly, in case relationship is too serious a word to use to describe what they have going on.

Thankfully, Himiko appears unbothered. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair. I’ve kinda wanted to talk about something like that too.” She tugs on one of her ears. “You can go first though, I don’t mind. I think what I wanna say is… kinda different from you.”

“Ah.” That makes them nervous, but  _ okay.  _ “Well, I--” they break off, and then ponder the best way to word this. Ordinarily they’d have prepared some long speech, as eloquence is hardly one of the areas in which they struggle, but Himiko isn’t the kind of person who would appreciate such a thing. Maybe she’d be flattered, but she gets tired easily, and so Korekiyo things that being casual is probably the safest bet. They want to respect her boundaries in case she rejects them and they stay friends. “I suppose it is no secret that I am rather fond of you, Yumeno.” They decide upon, resisting the urge to sigh in case this comes off as a fact that they are disappointed in.

“Sure,” Himiko’s lower lip draws in a little bit. She seems like she’s sizing them up.

“And, ah, I also suppose that recently-- well, no, I don’t  _ suppose,  _ I’m fully conscious of the-- er, developments, that have--” Korekiyo huffs out a bit of a frustrated sigh. This is hard! So many words in so many different languages and it is impossible to find the ones with which to convey their affections. “Yumeno, I have feelings for you.” They say bluntly. “Of a romantic nature.”

“Oh.” Himiko’s ears, one of which she was playing with a moment ago, take on a pinkish hue. Her eyes are wide, lips slightly parted, and she looks… surprised. Speechless. Hardly the reaction that Korekiyo was going for, but not altogether unexpected. They can’t tell if it’s good surprise or bad surprise, though, which is annoying. “I-- wow.” She laughs, a breathy kind of laugh that eases their nerves a bit, and says quietly, “I wasn’t expecting you to-- okay.” She inhales sharply, and in her exhalation replies, “I like you too,” so quickly that Korekiyo isn’t sure they hear her correctly.

“Pardon?”

“I said I like you too,” Himiko repeats, a tad testily now. “That’s what I was thinking too. I thought you were just gonna talk about, like, how arbitrary these study sessions are since I never get anything done, or something.” She glares at a spot on the floor next to her, her face turning violently red, and mumbles, “I didn’t think you’d like me back.”   
  


“These sessions  _ are  _ arbitrary,” Korekiyo responds with a smile, feeling the butterflies in their stomach become less the result of anxiety but more the result of adrenaline that they no longer have any use for. “But I value them regardless.”

“Uh-huh, okay,” Himiko rolls her eyes. “Because all aspects of humanity are beautiful, right? And even useless things are beautiful to you?”

“Well, I do think that, but I could never call anything that you are involved in useless.” Korekiyo muses, and Himiko shields her eyes with one hand, as though it’ll cover the blush that has begun to spread down to her neck.

“Oh my  _ god,  _ is that what dating you is gonna be? Screw you, your poker face is mean.” She mumbles, and Korekiyo chuckles. They’d be lying if they said they weren’t thoroughly enjoying her embarrassment, even if it is a bit mean to intentionally needle someone who they are fond of.

“At any rate,” they continue, pretending as though they didn’t hear or register Himiko’s comment just now, “I value these sessions because they represent time that I can spend with you, Yumeno.”

Himiko makes a choked noise at that, and Korekiyo wonders whether they have gone too far, but then she uncovers her face, and they see that she is wearing a watery smile. She isn’t crying, but she seems on the verge of it. “I wanna hug you, is that okay?” She asks, barely audible, and Korekiyo feels a rush of warmth in their chest that she asked. Himiko has always been considerate, even when she’s upset, but even so… the feeling that her consideration gives them can never get old.

“Of course,” they murmur, and in response, Himiko leaps up onto the table to throw herself into their arms. They catch her, a quiet  _ oomph  _ escaping despite their best efforts, and then slide one hand around her waist, cherishing the warmth that radiates from her body through their bandages. They half wish they could unravel the bandages from their hand so they could feel the softness of her hair, or pull down their mask so that they may kiss her on the top of her head… but that will come, eventually, they suppose. They card their fingers through the hair on the back of her head regardless, feeling her arms shift around their neck as she tilts her head back into their touch and looks up at them with soft eyes.

“Are you my partner now then?” She smiles, real and full and genuine, and Korekiyo feels their heart swell again, nearly painfully. “Chabashira gives her blessing, y’know, since you’re not a male.”

“Ah, I appreciate that,” as validating as it is to receive the blessing of someone like Tenko, Korekiyo focuses on Himiko’s question. “And yes, I suppose so,” they murmur, and she nods before tucking her face back into the crook of her neck.

“Okay.” Her voice is muffled by the fabric of their mask. “Ouma’s gonna call you my date-mate though, I think. He kept threatening to.” The snort that draws out of Korekiyo is louder than they mean for it to be, but seeing as their hands are occupied holding their (newly established) girlfriend, they suppose that it’s alright to let that one go without any embarrassment. “Cool. Good. Okay.”

“We can stay like this,” Korekiyo offers softly. “For a while, if you’d like.”

“I would like,” Himiko mumbles. “I mean, yeah, yes, great. I’m, gonna do that.” She falls silent momentarily, and then murmurs, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Nothin’.” They can hear the smile in her voice. “Just this.”

**Author's Note:**

> ah,,, i'm proud of this piece and that's a really weird position for me to be in because it happens so rarely nowadays
> 
> anyway i'm SO SORRY this took so long but happy birthday!! you are such an incredible writer and your patience was extraordinary
> 
> (also i messaged someone on tumblr asking if it was you but if it's Not that will be extremely awkward so please i wanna know if i was write about the person hhh)
> 
> aksdhfjkds anyway!!!!!!!! i won't make a habit of posting requests from that thing separately in the future but y'know. birthday fics. it be like that
> 
> i'm love you


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